Cat's best friend
by AniZH
Summary: Jade is Cat's first real friend. Cat's mother hopes she'll stay in her daughter's life forever.


Welcome to this one shot that's surprisingly not about Beck and Jade. ;) It's about Jade and Cat and their friendship instead. It's just a little thing and I hope you guys will enjoy it. :)

* * *

It isn't easy. Cat is such a sweet, beautiful and talented girl but sometimes her mother believes that she, her husband and their son are the only ones seeing that. Cat's brother is sick. He gets better and then worse than before all the time.

Her mother knows that Cat must suffer because of that. But she never looses her cheery attitude. How can anybody not love that?

But something about her personality doesn't let it click with people. Or it does, but not enough. There are kids she calls her friends. But she never gets invited to a birthday party.

Her mother and father try to invite some of those kids over but it's difficult. There's also Cat's brother who sometimes can't stand people in the house and at other time weirds out visitors.

Cat's in high school by now. Hollywood Arts. She's such a great singer. Her mother swoons every time she hears her little girl sing.

She's singing right now as her mother is coming home with her brother from another doctor's appoinment, a month after the start of the new school year.

She isn't singing alone. There's another voice joining her in some song that she's believing to recognize from the radio.

Cat's brother falls down on the couch in exhaustion. He is in one of those phases where he sleeps too much.

She meanwhile follows the sounds of the two voices, ending up in front of Cat's room, which door stands wide open like it almost always does.

And inside it's not just Cat, sitting on her bed. With her sits another girl that must be her age. She looks nothing like Cat at all. While Cat is, like always, wearing bright colors, the girl is wearing mostly black.

They stop singing as they notice Cat's mother.

"Hello," she says. "I don't think we have met. I'm Cat's mom, Violette."

"Jade," the girl only answers and there's not even a smile on her face. But Cat's mother looks at Cat's bright face and can't help but immediately like Jade.

.

.

.

Violette sees that someone called their landline and left a message when she comes into the kitchen early in the morning, where their phone is.

She wonders if the doctor called really early. It's difficult with their son again. He screamed for an hour last night and there was nothing they could do about it. They are worried that he's in physical pain after all. He is in emotional pain but they don't know how to help him as much as he needs it.

They visited the doctor the day before last and maybe he has found out something. He wanted to consult another collague.

But it isn't their doctor's voice but a young girl's.

"Hi. Uhm... It's Jade. I just gathered that Cat probably didn't tell you and that you might worry. She came over an hour ago and is now asleep in my bed. She'll be home after school tomorrow. Well, today. Bye."

Oh.

Violette didn't notice her daughter leaving. She feels guilty. How didn't she notice?

Cat never leaves like that. Not since they moved further away from Violette's mother. For a few years in Cat's early childhood, they were neighbors and Cat sometimes ran over to her grandmother's in her pajamas in the middle of night when there was too much going on with her brother.

Well, there was also too much going on with her brother tonight and Cat wasn't able to stand it.

Violette should've noticed. But Cat has always been so good about their parents putting so much of their attention onto her brother and... somehow she just didn't notice how bad she must've felt tonight with that screaming and neither of her parents being with her.

She tells her husband as soon as he comes into the kitchen and he feels just as bad as she does. But there is one good thing about this.

.

When Cat comes home from school, they ask her if she's okay.

"Yes," Cat says. "Sorry I just left. I only realized on the way to school this morning that you don't know where I am. But Jade said she left you a message."

She looks all worried, as if she has a reason to worry.

"She did," Violette says. "We're glad you found a place to go."

That's the thing. Cat shouldn't have a reason to leave. But they are so glad that she has a place to leave to. A place she can go to when it's becoming too much for her.

.

.

.

Cat has been in a play and Violette managed to come to this one. Jade is in it too and afterwards, when Violette hugs Cat and celebrates the play with her, she notices Jade getting hugged by some woman too. Jade rolls her eyes but hugs her back.

Violette hasn't met that woman before but is sure that it must be Jade's mother.

Cat also sees the pair close-by and promptly says she has to go hug Jade too to celebrate and she runs off over to her and does. Jade pushes her away, but Cat doesn't seem to mind, still grins at her brightly, telling her that they did it and that it was so amazing. Jade smiles as she agrees with her.

Violette has followed her daughter over. She knows that Jade's surname is 'West' but Cat always talks about Jade's mother as 'Ms. Anderson', so that's also the name Violette uses, as she talks to the woman: "You are Ms. Anderson, Jade's mother, yes?"

"Yes, that's right," the woman answers as they shake each other's hands. "Mrs. Valentine?" She of course knows Cat and must gather that Violette is her mother.

She nods with a smile. "Yes. I'm so glad to finally meet you. You have an amazing daughter."

She notices how Ms. Anderson glances next to her as if to make sure it's still Jade standing there, while lying one of her hands on her back. A behaviour that shows that Ms. Anderson hasn't gotten told that very often, if ever.

"Thank you," she says earnestly. "You, too."

She nods to Cat, who doesn't talk with Jade anymore but grins brightly at Ms. Anderson. Jade also follows their conversation.

Violette doesn't know if Jade or her mother can ever guess how much Jade means to Cat and therefore to her parents and her brother too. Cat trusts Jade without doubt, can always go to her with everything. Jade helps her all the time and makes sure she's safe, physically and emotionally.

Cat was always a happy girl but never... this content in her happiness. She never had a place outside of her family. Now she has Jade.

Violette insistently says: "Thank you, really."

.

.

.

Jade stays over every now and then. It's never a problem. She doesn't get weirded out by Cat's brother. She calls him out sometimes, but she accepts him at his core like he is. Of course Cat is drawn to her. As is her brother, actually, who never has a problem with her around, who never freaks out about her.

Lately, Jade has stayed over more often. Violette got told by Cat, Cat herself crying, that Jade and Beck broke up. Violette only met Beck once. But she gathers that Jade and he were very much in love. Cat seems in total shock and distress that they aren't together anymore. She tells Violette that she knows they both still love each other and that she doesn't understand why they aren't together anymore.

Violette knows that sometimes, love isn't enough. And maybe her little girl is even wrong and there isn't as much love as she thinks.

Jade is sleeping over tonight again, but right now she isn't sleeping.

Violette woke up because she needed the restroom, but on the way back to her and her husband's bedroom, she notices there is a small light on in the main room of the house.

She walks inside and it's Jade who's sitting at the kitchen counter and has turned on the light above the counter, not in the living room area.

"Oh, hey, what are you doing up?" Violette checks as she walks closer. She's used to finding her children like this too.

Jade looks around to her and shrugs: "Just can't sleep."

But her eyes are so empty. Well, Violette is also used to this. A nonresponsive answer with eyes that show this empty pain. Her children also aren't always ready to talk. But they always need company.

"You like to drink hot cocoa, yes?"

She already starts to prepare to cups of cocoa to heat up.

"I don't need hot cocoa," Jade says in one of her irriated tones of voices.

"It always helps when you can't sleep," Violette assures her.

Jade doesn't fight her more and readily takes the cup when Violette hands it to her.

Violette sits down at the corner of the counter and decides to make conversation. If Jade is willing to.

"Has Cat told you the good news about her second cousin?"

"Yeah," Jade responds. "She couldn't get pregnant at first, huh?"

She couldn't. But just yesterday they got the news that they got pregnant and they immediately told the whole family.

"Yes, it took a long time. We're so so happy for her," Violette say with a bright grin. She can't help but always grin when she just thinks about it. She knows how amazing it is to have children and she's glad for everyone, who wants to, to experience that too.

Jade looks down to the cup of hot cocoa in her hands and after a moment, when Violette wants to start another topic, Jade whispers, broken: "I thought I'd have children with Beck some day."

It breaks Violette's heart. This young and strong girl that puts her cup down to cover her face with both her hands, to hide her tears.

"I'm sorry," Violette softly says. Because she is. She is so damn sorry.

And there's nothing else to say.

She lets Jade cry for a moment, not reaching over, because she's sure Jade doesn't want to be touched.

Then she starts: "You know when I was young I had this boyfriend, Hugh."

And she tells Jade all about how in love she was and what weird things Hugh got her into and after a while, it makes Jade snort with laughter.

Violette only thinks about how comfortable and safe Jade must feel in their home when she's back in bed. That Jade cried in front of her, in this house... Violette knows that Jade isn't one to cry openly.

It's a sign of how much Jade trusts her. Violette feels blessed about that trust. After all, Jade is the person whom Cat trusts beyond doubt, who grounds her, who lets her feel safe. If Violette can feel Jade a little bit safer too in return... She's glad about the chance to do exactly that.

.

.

.

Violette and her husband had to move away from LA to be with their son in a place where there were doctors who could take much better care of him than any other.

They left Cat with relatives in LA. She wants to finish high school with her friends and her parents understand that. They don't want to leave her but they say they'll try it on a day to day basis. As long as she's okay they'll keep it like this. But if she can't, they have to think of another solution. Maybe, either she or her husband need to stay with her, but they like to stay together too, not to mention that the doctors say that they both should work with their son, that they both have to for him to get better.

It's also not supposed to be for forever, just for a few months. Then, they can go back and be with Cat again as well.

Violette's sister-in-law informs them that Cat hasn't been with them for the last few days. Cat tells them she's staying at Jade's for a while, which is fine.

Then, one late afternoon, Jade calls Violette on her cell.

"Yes?" she answers it immediately.

"Hi, Violette. It's Jade," Violette hears the familiar voice.

"I saw," Violette says. They exchanged numbers some time after Cat vanished to Jade's at night again. "How are you, dear?"

"Fine," she answers.

"Is Cat okay?" Violette checks. She guesses Jade won't just randomly call. She never did before. It's always about Cat and Violette is still so thankful that Jade always takes care of her and also informs her parents about everything.

It's also about Cat now. "Well... What did she tell you where she's staying?"

"With you for a few days," Violette answers, already wondering about that question.

"She didn't," Jade swiftly says. "She stayed in school. I just found out."

"What?" Violette asks shocked. That can't be, can it?

Jade explains, directly: "She probably didn't want to worry anybody but she's really unhappy with your in-laws."

"Oh, no," Violette says. She didn't know anything about that. "What happened?"

Her in-laws didn't say anything. Neither did Cat. But yes, Jade must be right. Cat didn't say anything, so nobody would worry. Though she knows Violette and her husband are both ready to come back if there's no other way. Not to mention that they have other relatives in and around LA, if she just doesn't get along with these.

"A whole lot of nonsense," Jade only answers. "Isn't there another option, another relative she can stay with?"

Violette takes a deep breath. Jade is always thinking so pragmaticly. She doesn't make a big deal out of it. She's trying to find a solution. That's also helping Violette to think and to not get lost in worries over her daughter.

"Well, they live closest to school. But..." Violette thoughtfully says. "Yes, of course she also can stay with my mother. She lives in Venice." And her mother and Cat love each other. The only reason that Violette didn't ask her mother first was really the fact that she thought Cat would like to be able to ride her bike to school or to even get there by foot. And also be closer to her friends because of it.

"That's still close enough. You think your mother would have her?"

"I bet she would be happy. I just thought that Cat could be closer to school this way. But yes, I'll call my mother right now. Can I call you back?" Is Jade ready to help her take care of this?

"Sure."

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.

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At their high school graduation, Violette doesn't only hug her little girl that jumps up and down excitedly, that's still such a sweet, beautiful and talented girl.

She also hugs Jade who after a moment even hugs back.

How much Violette hopes that Jade will forever stay in her daughter's life.


End file.
